ENEMIES WITHOUT CAUSE

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

AUGUST 30, 2023

TOPIC: ENEMIES WITHOUT CAUSE

BY T. O. BANSO

“Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause” (Psalm 35:19 New King James Version).

Someone told me the story of a young man who travelled to his family’s house in the village a long time ago. It was a traditional setting. Everyone warmly welcomed him. As it was the custom, he tried to be generous to the women in the neighouring houses who came to greet him at the same time. He gave each of them the same amount of money.

However, he started having some strange spiritual experiences at night, making it impossible for him to sleep. He would hear terrifying footsteps at a certain hour of the night but he would not see anyone if he opened the door. He was forced to tell one of the old men in the family who told him it was a witchcraft attack. He was told that one of the women from the nieghbouring houses whom he gave a gift to was responsible for this. The woman had felt offended by the gift.

The young man examined himself and could not remember he offended any woman. The issue was not that he offended the woman but that she felt offended. They are two different things. When he was further guided to understand the situation, he was able to identify the person.

He had given the other women money in notes but when he had exhausted his notes, he gave one of the women the same amount of money in coins, which she didn’t reject. However, the woman felt offended and, being a witch, attacked this young man spiritually. The young man couldn’t believe that a kind gesture could attract such enmity and evil action. He was scared.

Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it? Also, 1 John 5:19b says the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. The old man told the man in this story what to do to stop the attack. He should go and give the woman the same amount he gave the other women in notes. He promptly did without complaining to the woman. That same night the attack stopped. He didn’t hear strange footsteps again.

This story is not to glorify Satan or scare anyone but to show how one can become someone’s enemy without a cause. How can human beings be so wicked and repay good with evil? How can someone receive a gift and still oppress the giver?

Some people are naïve and think that the only reason people have enemies is that they’ve done something wrong. No. Some people can feel offended by the good you have done to them or others and take you as their enemies. You have not really offended them but they feel offended. They are enemies without cause. This experience could be so painful that it provoked David to pray some dangerous prayers!

The Bible, especially the Psalms of David, talks about enemies without a cause. They still exist today. People that you have not offended but hold something against you and are fighting you spiritually and sometimes physically. David said, “Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause” (Psalm 35:19 New King James Version). Note the phrase “hate me without a cause.” In other words, they hated him without reason or justification.

Please, note that David said some people were his enemies wrongly. They were “undeserved enemies”, as the New American Bible puts it. They hated him without a cause. He said in Psalm 38:19b that those who hated him wrongfully had multiplied. They were his enemies for no just cause. “They have set an ambush for me. Fierce enemies are out there waiting, LORD, though I have not sinned or offended them” (Psalm 59:3 New Living Translation). Again, David said in Psalm 35:7, “For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit, which they have dug without cause for my life” (New King James Version).

While one should not be hyper-sensitive to the existence of enemies, one should not be ignorant of the fact that there are people one has not really offended but for one reason or the other best known to them, fight one. Imagine someone you helped but is not satisfied with the help you rendered. It wasn’t that you didn’t assist him at all, but he felt he deserved more or you should have done more! Such people could attack one spiritually or physically, or attack one both ways.

David said in Psalm 69:4, “Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; they are mighty who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully; though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it” (New King James Version).

I listened to a gentleman about how he travelled to another part of his country on an official assignment and he was trailed by some men who blocked his car. One of them brought out his phone to show the man his picture and that of his car to prove to him that he was their target. They had been sent to attack him.

From the information he gathered from his assailants, he knew who sent them and tried to explain that he had done the person no evil but good. He mentioned the instances. It was the mercy of God that saved this man. He was seriously harmed; his car was badly damaged and he was hospitalized.

Enemies without cause! If you help people, you can become their enemies. If you don’t help them, you can either. What sin did David commit against Saul that he went after him to kill him till he (Saul) died? David’s only sin was that he helped Saul and the nation of Israel to kill Goliath who, for forty days, had been frightening them and making a mockery of the army of God. One would think that Saul would have rewarded David for such a heroic feat. No, he became envious of him.

Your success can provoke enmity. Not everybody will be happy that you’re succeeding. But must you fail so that they could be happy? No. 1 Samuel 18:6-9 says, “When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. This was their song: ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!’ This made Saul very angry. ‘What’s this?’ he said. ‘They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!’ So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David” (New Living Translation).

David had opportunities to kill Saul but he didn’t because Saul was the LORD’s anointed. On one of such occasions, David told him that there was neither evil nor rebellion in his hand, and he had not sinned against Saul; yet he hunted his life to take it (1 Samuel 24:11). In response, Saul answered David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil” (verses 17 New King James Version). Nevertheless, he didn’t relent.

Saul was an enemy without a cause. On another occasion that David could have killed him but didn’t, he told Saul  “Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand?” (1 Samuel 26:18 New King James Version).

Enemies without cause! Jeremiah was also a victim of enemies without cause. He lamented, “My enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird. They silenced my life in the pit and threw stones at me. The waters flowed over my head; I said, ‘I am cut off!’” (Lamentation 3:52-54 New King James Version).

The battles that some people are fighting today could be from enemies without cause. The battles could be over trivial matters or destiny-related. Jesus was a victim of enemies without cause. He didn’t commit any sin but the Jewish religious leaders saw him as their enemy and handed him over to be crucified out of envy (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10). They hated Him because he was fulfilling His ministry. “But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause’” (John 15:25 New King James Version).

The Lord who delivered David, Jeremiah, and Jesus Christ from enemies without cause will deliver you. “He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me” (Psalm 18:17 New King James Version).

The Lord shall deliver you from all the plots and attacks of enemies without cause. “The wicked watches the righteous, And seeks to slay him. The LORD will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged” (Psalm 37:32-33 New King James Version).

What you should do

1. Trust in the Lord. Whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25b). The Lord is the help and shield of those who trust in Him (Psalm 115:11).

2. Obey the Word of God thereby pleasing Him. Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways please the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (New King James Version).

3. Put on the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:11-18).

4. Walk in love; don’t repay evil with evil (Ephesians 5:2; John 13:34; Colossians 3:14). Vengeance is the Lord’s; He will repay (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19). “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10 New King James Version).

5. Pray without ceasing or continually. Never stop praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

6. Be sober; be vigilant and be steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Conclusion: Your enemies shall self-destruct. He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent (Ecclesiastes 10:8). David said a similar thing:  “He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown” (Psalm 7:15-16 New King James Version).

Enemies without cause! The Lord shall grant you victory over them. “The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken” (Psalm 37:14-15 New King James Version).

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: Father, give me victory over enemies without cause. Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies or make fun of me who hate me without cause. Deliver me from the ambush of fierce or treacherous enemies I have done no wrong but are out there waiting for me. Don’t let me fall into their hands.

(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

 T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org